What It's Like to Live Inside America's Oldest Shopping Mall

When the Westminster Arcade opened in 1828, it was the architectural pride of Providence, Rhode Island—a stunning specimen of Greek Revival style, modeled after the arcades of New York and London, with a gabled sky-lit roof, and walkways of shops with interior facing windows displaying their wares. In 1976, it received National Historic Landmark status. (Currently it is the nation's oldest operating indoor shopping mall.) But by 2008, the Arcade was completely vacant and had become one of the city's most endangered buildings. That's when developers stepped in to both preserve the structure's integrity and give it new purpose. Real-estate developer Evan Granoff worked with J. Michael Abbott of Northeast Collaborative Architects to complete the $8 million facelift, returning the mall's interior to its former glory and establishing it as a mixed-use complex of independent retailers and micro-loft residences.

The Westminster Arcade, circa 1850.

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The Arcade, April 1958.

Library of Congress/Laurence E. Tilley

Arcade Providence opened its doors in October 2013 with 48 residential units, the majority of which are studio or one-bedroom "micro lofts" between 225 and 450 square feet. Each unit comes with a built-in bed, wardrobe cabinet, bathroom with shower (no tub), a kitchen area with a mini-fridge, and a banquette that serves as a sofa. Some of the roomier residences have an additional twin-sized Murphy bed. Rents start at $850 per month, an attractive price for the rapidly growing number of young professionals moving to Providence, where the average one-bedroom apartment rents for $1,569. (By comparison, nearby Boston commands an average of $2,656 per month for a one-bedroom.)

The Arcade's central corridor, April 1958.

Library of Congress/Laurence E. Tilley

Arcade's central corridor, October 2016.

Thad Russell

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Jonathan Joseph Peters, 36, was one of the first tenants to move into the Arcade. As co-owner of Nude boutique on the building's retail level, the apparel designer (and former Project Runway contestant) was given the chance to bypass the long wait list of hopeful tenants. Being a new business owner, Peters found the appeal in not only minimizing his commute, but his living expenses too.

"While we were looking at storefronts and selecting one, bells went off in my head. I'm thinking, wait, I can live here too? I was like a kid in a candy store," he recalls.

Thad Russell

Peters looks at the experience as a fun personal challenge. His floor plan is roughly 375 square feet, so he questions every single item he brings into his home: Where is this going to go, what is its function, and is it absolutely necessary? "It's called being an adult, but my apartment actually forces me to do it," he says.

The upside is that he can clean his home in and hour and a half. The downside is how quickly it becomes cluttered when things aren't put away. "Two pairs of shoes and a jacket and your apartment's covered," he says.

Another downside to living in a mall? It was never meant for residential use, meaning it's centrally located among commercial buildings. "There's some noise when you have your windows open, especially at night, from people gathering to smoke cigarettes outside of nearby restaurant," says Peters.

Julie Chisholm, 45, an office manager for a corporate consulting firm in Boston, feels less cluttered and more productive since moving into her 300-square-foot unit. "I was skeptical at first, wondering if I could live in a space this small, but you adjust," she says.

Thad Russell

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She allows herself one junk drawer. She doesn't keep things she doesn't use (a face cream she was never fond of, or a perfume bottle with a few drops left) just because she might need them one day, which used to be her mindset. She keeps her book collection, Christmas dishes, and extra sets of sheets in a storage unit in the building's basement. She donated lots of stuff, especially clothes, when she first moved in. "At the time I'm thinking I can't live without these things and now I can't even remember what I got rid of," says Chisholm.

Thad Rusell

Thad Russell

She loves how bright and sunny the space is. Each micro loft has two windows that open to the outdoors, as well as larger windows overlooking the sky-lit atrium, a throwback to the days of when the mall was first built and gas lamps lit the streets at night. Skylights kept the arcade illuminated during the day.

When friends and family (like Chisholm's 14-year-old nephew, who jokingly refers to her place as "Narnia's Closet") come to visit, she has a round dining table and a twin Murphy bed, for overnight guests. The design is so smartly done, says Chisholm, she was in her new home for a week before she even realized the extra bed was there. Without an oven, though, she prefers to meet friends at restaurants over entertaining at home.

Chisholm showing off her apartment's twin-sized Murphy bed.

Thad Russell

None of the Arcade's units have stoves or ovens. Apartments under a certain size aren't allowed in Providence, so developers built the micro lofts under rooming house code, which prohibits units from containing cooking devices. Luckily, microwaves and toaster ovens aren't on the list of banned appliances, so residents like Peters have mastered the art of meal making via NuWave Oven, Crock-Pot, and George Foreman Grill. "My friends gifted me every cooking device under the sun when I moved in," he says. "They were apparently worried that I was going to waste away to nothing."

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Because his unit was retrofitted around one of the mall's elevators, it has a walk-in-closet sized space not found in the other lofts—he uses it as a sewing room, housing his cutting table and stacks of folded fabric there. "If I didn't have that extra space, I wouldn't be able to cut and sew at home," says Peters. "It also keeps me slim because I have to fit between the cutting table and the wall."

Thad Russell

Thad Russell

Julie enjoys being able to go downstairs to a restaurant and grab a cup of coffee. The Arcade's proximity to the train station, a five-minute walk away, was a big selling point too. The access the mall offers, to retail, restaurants, public transportation, and the downtown neighborhood at large, is why micro-loft living works. Such arrangements would be much more difficult in a rural setting where residents couldn't pop out for a quick bite, or to meet friends for a drink. Common spaces like the laundry room, for example, create a sense of built-in community, as Peters describes it. "Everybody in the building is lovely," says Chisholm. Peters agrees: It's nice to see the same people around; you become friends.

Living at the Arcade comes with a certain cache, too. "It's a building that a lot of people are enamored with," says Peters. "Having a business here and living here, I've come to realize that this is a really highly regarded place. It has a special place in a lot of people's memories."

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